Anansi's Web

Without a second thought, I ran lunged at Vince, and unsheathed his sword from his waist.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

I held the sword with both hands, watching the director just stand there, this was the perfect opportunity. We can end this now, as I imagined killing him I wondered how it would feel. Maybe it would feel like a weight is lifted from my shoulders.

I ran up to the director, and held the sword like a baseball bat, ready to slice this guy in half with a swing. Then, what I was doing occurred to me, and I realized that I was going to take pleasure in killing someone. The thought froze me up. I was a monster. This determination took control of me; I let it convince me that I wanted to kill this man, this human being.

What was I doing? This man isn’t good, but I didn’t want to imagine what it would feel like to stab someone. The thought made me shiver. I relaxed my arms, and the sword fell to the ground with a clatter that rang in my ears, and would remind me of this moment for the rest of my life.

I clenched my fist, standing right in front of the director. “Do something.” I muttered.

I raised my fist, and put all of my force into a punch, but just before I made contact with the director’s face, my fist bounced off of some invisible field, knocking me off balance.

Ember raised her hand, and a blast of energy was shot at the director, but it fizzled away before he was hit. The room was protecting him. We could do nothing now but wait.

Vince picked up his sword, and held it in front of him, prepared for when the director would wake. Cara took out a bottle, and stood behind Ember, watching form behind her shoulder.

We stood there, waiting for the last moment. There was nothing else we could do.

The director blinked for the first time, and he looked around, realizing where he was. Vince raised his sword, and ran up to him, ready to swing. He probably killed a lot of people back when he was a pirate. The sword was halfway to the director’s body when he stopped it with magic, and Vince was tossed backwards, his sword flew from his hands, and landed at the back of the room.

Ember and the director immediately engaged in their deadly light show. Black and purple swirled through the air between them. Their magic danced, flashing the room, bathing everything in a strobe of black and violet light. Embers was weak from hexing the general, and form the fight earlier, I had to help her, but I didn’t know where my emotions were, so I had to collect myself before I could use magic.

Cara couldn’t see where to toss the bottle, and hiding behind Ember became dangerous so she stood next to me against a wall, watching. Vince got up, and pulled out his gun, trying to aim for the general.

The energy in the room rocketed as the fight continued. Vince finally took the shot, but it was blocked by the director. He kept shooting, but the director kept his shield up, creating a break in the light show.

Ember stopped, and hunched over, breathing heavily. Not knowing what else to do I stood beside her, ready to help anyway I could, but even now she tried to Shepard me away with her weak voice.

“You need help, let me help you.” I pleaded.

She shook her head, and stood up straight. “Hircum accerso.” She murmured.

In a flash of sparkly blue light her goat Alexandra appeared, bleating. She ran forward, and rammed into the director, breaking his shield. He flew backwards, and landed on his back. The goat ran up to ram him again, but he got up, and moved out of the way, so Alexandra rammed into the wall, pulling away dizzy.

The director tried to hit the goat with magic, but Ember shielded her. The goat fell down, disoriented, and the magic fight resumed, with me entirely hopeless.

Vince threw his gun to the ground; it must be out of power. He went back, and got his sword, and I noticed that he had a small limp. Cara searched her bag, and pulled out a green vial. She handed it to Vince, and he drank it, but the effects must not be immediate. He limped over, and tried again to stab the director while he was distracted, but the man managed to double task.

“Tell me you have something that could save us all in that bag.” I said to Cara.

“No, I’m almost out of stones, and potions. All I have now are ingredients, and a few vials of medicine. What I gave Vince was a common drug used to help with the pain.”

Then, I remembered something. “The necklaces, the lucky necklaces, where are they?”

“The…Oh, the golden necklaces! I think they’re in a secret pocket…” She pulled out the two golden charms, and handed the one shaped like the sun to me. She put on the one with a charm shaped like a box.

Unfortunately we should’ve given the necklaces to Ember and Vince. While Ember paused for two seconds, Vince was tossed aside, and he hit the wall with a blunt “Umph!” He crumpled to the ground.

I took my necklace off, and ran to give it to Ember, who was fazed by Vince, who wasn’t moving. Before she could put it on, Cara was hit with a spell while she tried to search through her bag. She was tossed backwards, and the contents of her bag were spilled out. A few stones rolled across the floor along with broken glass vials that hissed and bubbled as the came in contact with the air. She tried to sit up, but she was having a difficult time.

I used the flashing light spell on the director before he could turn his attention our way, fueling my magic with anger. Ember put the necklace on, and hugged me tight.

“Angelo, look” Cara called.

I turned, and saw her holding up a shrunken head. “It was in my bag the whole time.”

“What does it do?”

“Remember that creature we fought that day in Sraff before we left?”

I nodded. The walrus looking creature the day I met the pirates came into my mind.

“It had a spell on it, it couldn’t get hurt, but the jinxes I found helped. Use this.”

“How do you know he’s got a spell on him?”

“Remember when he was knocked into the wall, but wasn’t hurt, and when he wasn’t stunned by the blast?”

“It’s worth a shot.” I said, taking the creepy shrunken head. It was my last hope.

I watched as Ember slowed with each spell. She was getting more out of breath each time she used magic. Her vibrant purple turned a dull pink. Then I noticed wrinkled appearing on her skin. Her body became thin, and feeble. I remembered something like that in that town we went to, when the guy got older each time he used magic…But, Ember didn’t have that disease, why was it happening to her?

I was about to burst into a rage. If I didn’t step in soon she might not be able to go on. Her hair was beginning to gray, and thin. My eyes became watery, but I had to stay calm. I tossed the shrunken head at the director, and I watched as a sort of veil of dark energy dissolved around him. Cara was right.

Shock thrashed him over the head, which gave Ember time to attack, but after a few hits, she grew weak, and began to stumble away. A few tears fell down my face as I walked up, and tried to attack the director myself, but all I could do was the light show. He looked away from the flashing lights, and hit me with a spell. I hit the ground.

He smiled, walking forward. “Now, let’s finish what we started in Neptia.”

He raised his hand in the air, and I had a sudden, risky idea. I put a shield around him before he could cast the spell. Just as his magic was released he was trapped in my energy. There was a fiery explosion inside of the dome, and I knew that he was gone for good.

“I fight for what I believe.” I said, repeating what he told me on the train, “No matter what the cost.”

I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. It was over for now.

When I opened my eyes I looked around, and saw Vince lying unconscious on the floor. Cara was sitting up against a wall, looking at me with a dull awareness of what just happened. Ember sat in a corner, old, and shriveled. Her hair was almost white, and it hung from her head like brittle straw. Her eyes were cloudy and sad. The beauty and youth she once had had disappeared.

“He got me.” She said. Her voice was full of cracks, and her breathing was ragged, but she sounded like the director had played a joke on her.

More tears fell. Alexandra, her goat got up weakly, and hobbled over to us. She stood next to me, and I hugged her neck tight. My tears fell onto her coat, but I don’t think she minded. The lump in my throat made me sob like a child as I watched Ember sit there, old, and dying.

“Don’t stay here.” I managed, “…Come back with us…please.”

Ember smiled a sad smile. “No. I’m too weak to make it through this tunnel, and the moment I call Alexandra back I will die.”

Cara sobbed, and winced from where she sat, but Ember looked at her, and smiled. “Shhh. It’ll be alright. Everyone dies. I’m just glad I got to do this with you before I go. You’ve taught me that I can’t control everything, and listen when I tell you that letting go of control is the best thing to do. Or else if you were me you’re last moments would be a horror.”

I hugged Alexandra tighter as Ember turned to me. She reached out, and put her cold, shaking hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let this haunt you….promise me. And when you get back…do me a favor, and go back to my…shop, and look in the storage room. Protect the emerald tablet.”

“I’ll do anything.”

She smiled, “I think I’m…I’m ready. Go now, before I tear up.”

“You can come with us, please.”

“I’m too weak, and I told you once I un-summon Alexandra I’m done. I love all of you. Take care.”

I buried my face in Alexandra’s coat as Cara wailed from across the room. It’s time to go.

I stood up, and walked away. My legs were noodles, and my heart was aching. My nose was stuffed up, and salty tears were running down my face, making a mess. I helped Cara up, and we stumbled out together. I carried Vince with weak magic, fueled by sadness. My vision was blurry, but I turned back around and waved Ember goodbye as Alexandra dissolved into light.

My last thought as I left the room was: We did it.

The End of book one.